


language of averted eyes

by jukeboxtheghostie



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, idk how 2 tag dis, its only referenced briefly but i just wanted 2 say it, they live out my dream of playing in da pouring rain w my best friend who i hav a huge crush on, theyre both trans, u kno how it b B)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:48:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25524670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jukeboxtheghostie/pseuds/jukeboxtheghostie
Summary: suddenly there was a vice grip on his wrist.“sachirou.”sachirou glanced down at his friend, his eyes wide and serious.“puddle hopping is a necessity,” he continued, far too intense for a soaked teenager discussing jumping around in puddles.—title frm pleaser by wallows
Relationships: Hirugami Sachirou/Hoshiumi Kourai
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	language of averted eyes

**Author's Note:**

> AHHHHH!!!!!!! SORRY 4 TH ABSENCE  
> dis is a v v self indulgent fic based off an rp i did w my friend tally!!!!!!! every1 say thank u tally 4 turning in2 a kamomedai stan 4 me ♡  
> OK BUT RLLY i hope yall enjoy!!! i enjoyed writing dis a lot  
> hmu on my twt!!!! im trionbody PLZ TALK 2 ME ABT THEM

“just unlock the door, kourai-kun—”

“no! you're gonna put me in another headlock!”

a sigh could be heard from the other side of the door. “i need towels, you idiot.”

kourai was currently in a predicament. it wasn't entirely his fault, though! honest! maybe he'd spilled a whole cup of water on his best friend sachirou's bed, but he hadn't meant to! sachirou had snuck up on him and scared him! 

and now he was in the bathroom, one of the only rooms with a door that could be locked, an exasperated sachirou waiting outside the door so he could clean up his bed. 

“i guess you'll just have to sleep on the floor tonight, because i'm taking the futon,” sachirou said decisively, kourai perking up at this. 

“you're so mean to me, sachirou!” he whined, crossing his arms as he leaned against the bathroom door. 

a beat of silence. another sigh. 

“if i call a truce, will you let me clean up your mess?” 

another beat, this time in consideration. 

“.. fine,” kourai agreed, unlocking the door and making a mad dash for the stairs as soon as he opened it. as expected, sachirou's truce didn't mean shit, his halfhearted swipes dodged by the smaller boy as he cackled like a madman. 

he bounded down the stairs, jumping from the last three and landing carefully. he could hear sachirou rustling around upstairs. smiling, he looked around for something entertaining. 

lo and behold, in front of the door sat sachirou's dog, buddy. kourai had stared at his best friend when he first met buddy— what an unusual name for a dog! and a girl at that! but kourai had quickly caught on to sachirou's fixation with all kinds of western movies about dogs, so he didn't question it further. 

in fact, after a while, buddy had grown on him significantly— and she loved him too! he liked to joke that he came over just to see buddy, which made sachirou adopt this weird tone that always cracked kourai up. it was almost as if he was jealous his dog was giving more attention to his friend than him!

kourai knelt down at buddy's side, cooing as she pushed her snout into his hand. he wasn't much of a dog person before sachirou, since he'd never been allowed to keep pets at his place, but now he frequently stopped to ask to pet a dog on his morning jogs. it was strange the effect his friend had on him. 

kourai pet the dog lazily, humming happily. after a few moments of tranquil silence, a loud crack of thunder sounded outside, spooking poor buddy. kourai definitely didn't jump, not at all, but he did soothe buddy gently and stare out the window next to the back door. 

the hirugami household was much larger than the hoshiumi household. they both held the same amount of people, since the older siblings in each family were away for college or already moved out, but sachirou's family was full of pro volleyball players and kourai's dad was a manga artist. kourai didn't have a back patio or a second story, so he greatly enjoyed using both features as much as he could. 

the back patio was small but comfortable, a few volleyballs strewn around the wooden surface and peeking out of the manicured grass beyond. the rain was beginning to pick up, the thunder from a moment ago signaling an oncoming storm. 

kourai looked down at his clothes. then he looked back to the window. he repeated this several times, considering. hmmmmmm. his shirt had gotten splashed when he spilled the water, and it then seeped into the side of his shorts, so he was already wet.. he might as well. 

\--

sachirou patted his bed with a towel lazily, cursing his clumsy best friend as he cleaned up his mess for him. he didn't know why he'd resigned himself to always cleaning up after kourai. sure, he wanted to sleep in his bed tonight, but he wasn't required to pick up stray shirts of his in the locker rooms or straighten the shelves in his room after they went through his manga— it was just habit, he supposed. 

he had removed the blankets and sheets already, which sat in a vaguely folded lump by his feet.

he sure hoped the water hadn't seeped into his mattress much.

“SACHIROU!! i'm going outside!”

oh god damnit, he thought. he could hear the rain start to come down harder on the roof. was he insane? “KOURAI, DON’T YOU DARE!”

“oh god damnit,” he repeated aloud once he heard the back door slam and buddy's claws tap against tatami. 

he dropped the towel onto the bed, giving the damp space one last pat before rushing downstairs. thankfully, kourai had at least enough sense to not take buddy with him— he wasn't planning on giving her a bath until the end of the week, and the rain would make the whole house smell like wet dog.

sachirou opened the door just enough to poke his head out, pushing buddy away from the door with his leg as he assessed the damage. he paused for a moment, watching as his best friend, his hair already stuck to his forehead, spun in circles with his arms out. weirdo. 

“kourai-kun, it's fucking POURING! come inside, you're gonna get struck by lightning!” sachirou called, watching as kourai stopped spinning and looked properly at him, his face splitting into a grin. 

“that's between me and god!” he called back, his hands cupped around his mouth. he then plopped down on the grass, a silent 'i'm not going anywhere'. sachirou groaned as he saw his best friend pat the spot on the grass— the grass that had been mowed last weekend, and was getting muddier by the minute— next to him. 

he ignored kourai’s cheers as he stepped out onto the patio and closed the door behind him. 

he stepped out from under the cover of his roof, the rain dotting his clothes instantly, because he had a hard time saying no to the smaller boy's shenanigans. 

he sat in the grass next to him because, as much as he'd rather stay inside where it was dry and cozy, he liked kourai's company far more. 

he withstood his clothes getting soaked and his bangs falling in his eyes no matter how much he adjusted them because he would do anything for his best friend.

\--

“you're weird,” sachirou huffed, nudging kourai's knee with his own. 

“you're weirder for joining me,” kourai shot back, the taller boy rolling his eyes at the notion. 

kourai laughed, laying back and stretching out on the grass. “drama queen,” he singsonged, only laughing more as sachirou shoved him away.

a comfortable silence overcame the pair. kourai folded his hands under his head, squinting against the rain in his face. the sun was still out, peeking between the stormclouds. 

his clothes were more than soaked through at this point, but he didn't really care much. the rain was warm.. or maybe it was just him. whichever it was, it was calming. having sachirou there was an added plus. 

“this is.. nice, i guess?” he heard sachirou say after a while. they looked at each other at the same time, kourai quickly breaking eye contact. he absolutely hadn't been staring at the way sachirou's hair fell over his eyes. he hummed quietly in agreement.

“you're gonna get grass stains on your shirt.”

the added phrase caught kourai off guard, scrunching his nose up at his friend. “what are you, my mom? you have a washing machine, it's fine.”

“i guess i have to put my sheets in the dryer anyways,” sachirou replied, defeated, and kourai could feel the glare without even looking. 

the glare melted into laughter after a moment, kourai laughing with him as the taller of the two laid down as well. kourai watched as his best friend pushed his hair back, then turned his gaze back to the sky. 

another comfortable silence, punctuated by the rain. 

kourai had only known sachirou since middle school, but they were so close one would think they grew up together. they knew nearly everything about each other, spending countless nights talking in hushed voices about secrets and aspirations or what had happened that day. they were most comfortable around each other, and kourai loved that about them.

he loved that they could sit in silence and not feel the need to fill the void with awkward small talk like the kids in his class. there was no rush to talk because they had all the time in the world to talk. 

kourai's eyes kept flicking between the sky and his best friend, who wouldn't stop messing with his bangs. geez, he needed a haircut. 

he ignored the way his hands itched to fix his hair for him. 

stupid sachirou and his stupid soft hair. 

getting restless, he sat up suddenly, ignoring sachirou's confused look. he scanned the yard for something to do, zeroing in on a volleyball by the patio. “wanna toss a ball around?” 

sachirou sent him an exasperated look. “in the pouring rain?” but since kourai knew they knew each other so well, he knew sachirou didn't have to wait for an answer. he smiled as the taller boy stood up and moved to retrieve the ball, standing up and stretching out his limbs. 

he stretched his arms above his head, leaning side to side for a few moments. he tried to turn and look at his back to see if he actually had any grass stains, and when he turned back, he noticed sachirou trying to wring his shirt out and paused.

kourai had a bad staring problem. everyone around him knew this, but it was especially evident when he was too busy staring at his friend’s arms to remember to receive the ball being tossed towards him, which bounced off his nose. he squawked in surprise, scrambling to pick up the ball after snapping himself out of his daze. ugh. stupid sachirou. he tossed the ball in the air and bumped it towards sachirou like nothing had happened, his face pink.

he heard a snort at the impact. “you're the one that wanted to play, don't zone out.”

“how mean,” kourai whined, bumping the ball properly when it was sent back to him this time. 

even when he wasn't on a court, he thought of volleyball. it was almost like a parasite. he liked to think of all sorts of things as training, so he slipped into the mindset quickly. the ball was slippery with rain, far more slippery than he was used to, but it was fun having to dig for every bump. 

they kept it off the ground successfully for almost a minute before it bounced off kourai's arm weird as he slipped on the grass, all but falling on his face as he attempted to save it well enough for sachirou to catch it. he laughed as he pushed himself up again, trying to get there fast enough to dig it again, but sachirou had already given up on the ball, doubled over in laughter. 

\--

“what's so funny?” kourai huffed, dusting himself off as if that would help with the grass stains on his sweatpants. what an idiot.

“you take yourself way too seriously,” sachirou replied smoothly after recovering from his laughing fit. he watched with amusement as kourai stuck his tongue out at him and went for the ball, sachirou snatching it up first. 

sachirou loved how easy it was to get a reaction out of his best friend. he knew damn well why he took himself so seriously, but poking fun at it was worth seeing kourai flustered and annoyed. 

“we've been out here for a while,” sachirou continued, holding the ball out of the shorter boy's reach and biting back the laughter bubbling in his throat watching him reach for it. it was always 'one more, one more' with him. “can we go inside now? i don't wanna get sick.”

hoshiumi gave up on retrieving the ball, so sachirou tossed it to the side. “or do you wanna jump in puddles first?” he added jokingly, hoping it'd count as another dig at his height. 

suddenly there was a vice grip on his wrist. 

“sachirou.”

sachirou glanced down at his friend, his eyes wide and serious. 

“puddle hopping is a necessity,” he continued, far too intense for a soaked teenager discussing jumping around in puddles. it was weirdly endearing. 

sachirou rolled his eyes, smiling. “i was joking. you're such a 9-year-old.” ignoring kourai's dramatic gasp, he carefully peeled his fingers from his wrist, grinning wickedly. “race you to the street!” he shouted, getting a headstart on his best friend before he could process what was happening. 

“hey! not fair!” he heard behind him, and the two of them ran in a mad dash for the street, running along the side of the house. they shoved at each other to try to get in the lead, bickering over who got there first once they got to the street. 

“who's the 9-year-old now?” kourai retorted, which only made sachirou laugh. 

he liked when they got like this, playing like middle schoolers. he had been such an uptight kid, overly aware of every mistake he made, and he'd never really had the chance to let go and be silly before kourai came along. 

and now, here he was, jumping in puddles in the street with his best friend. they were seventeen years old, and they were competing for the biggest splash. he wondered what his neighbors would think if they looked out the window and saw two near-adults getting mud on their shoes. 

after a handful of puddles, sachirou zeroed in on a very promising one, and all but stomped in it. however, he hadn't calculated for muddiness, and said mud splashed his sweatpants up to his knees. “GAH!” 

he could hear kourai's laughter from the other side of the street, significantly less muddy than he was. 

“i guess you win!” kourai wheezed, sachirou pouting in response. he stepped out of the puddle just as kourai bounded over and took his hand, tugging on it lightly. “we should go clean up.”

he nodded wordlessly, letting himself be pulled back to the house by the hand. they walked back around the side of the house at sachirou's request, not wanting to track mud on the tatami mats, but even as they slowed down at the patio, kourai didn't let go of his hand. 

suddenly hyper-aware of the touch as they stood by the door, he pulled his hand away as nonchalantly as he could, pointedly not meeting kourai's gaze as he pushed open the door and went to grab towels for them. 

it wasn't like they never held hands— kourai had a habit of grabbing his arm or wrist or hand to lead him somewhere, like he had just done, so reasonably, sachirou should be used to it. unfortunately, he was a pining idiot who had a habit of overthinking every touch. 

a moment later, kourai came bounding down the stairs, towels balanced in his arms. he already had one on his head, handing some to sachirou so he could step inside. 

he scuffed his feet on the patio before patting down his muddy sweatpants, closing the door behind him once he was deemed dry enough to walk around inside. he rubbed his hair dry with a separate towel, biting back a laugh when he saw kourai's hair sticking straight up immediately. 

\--

“that was fun!” kourai chirped, his towel wrapped around his shoulders as he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. he was cold as hell now that they were inside, so he was eager to change.

“it was,” sachirou agreed, giving himself a once-over and sighing. “i should do laundry. do you need dry clothes?” he added, bending down to roll up his pant legs.

“hmm.. yeah,” kourai replied, following sachirou upstairs to his room. whether he actually needed a change of clothes was none of sachirou's business, even if it pissed him off. it wasn't his fault that his clothes were so comfy! 

he caught the clothes thrown at him once sachirou had rummaged around a bit, smiling to himself. 

“i'll go change in the bathroom. i'll come back for the blankets.” kourai saluted at his best friend's words, ignoring his snort at the action.

as soon as sachirou was out of sight, he peeled off his clothes, struggling a bit with his binder, and quickly put on the dry ones given to him. he tied the drawstrings on his (sachirou's) sweatpants tight so they'd stay put, sitting perched on the end of the bed as he waited for sachirou to come back. 

he grabbed the hem of his (sachirou's) shirt and held it to his face, inhaling happily. he knew it was probably weird to like how your friend's clothes smelled, but he'd be lying if he said he'd never bought the same kind of laundry detergent to wash the stolen articles with. 

once sachirou emerged with his hair pushed back by a headband and a drowsy look on his face, kourai hopped up to help him carry the laundry, grabbing their clothes as sachirou got the blankets. they then went downstairs, kourai letting him start the washing machine and squinting as he watched sachirou pick his binder out of the load. stupid sachirou. his binder was gonna smell like stale rainwater and sweat if he didn't wash it soon. 

once that was over and done with they headed back upstairs, sachirou lagging considerably on the stairs. “i'm fucking tired,” he complained, opening the hall closet to find the spare futon. “i didn't think puddle hopping would be so taxing.”

“whatever, old man,” kourai teased, earning a “hey, i thought i was nine!” from his best friend. he just laughed, eyeing the futon he was carrying into the room. “gonna take a nap?” 

“probably,” sachirou replied, yawning as he rolled it out onto the space next to his bed. “we can just share the futon, then?” a beat. the tips of his ears looked red. “just for the nap, i mean.”

kourai was no better off thinking about sharing a futon with the boy he'd been obssessed with for years, but he agreed anyways. “sure, i don't mind. don't hog the blanket, though!” he hummed, helping sachirou finish setting it up. 

sachirou immediately flopped onto the futon, crawling under the covers. kourai bit back his laughter and got under on the other side, shoving sachirou to the side a bit so he'd have more space. 

sachirou didn't react much, his fatigue probably setting in already, suddenly rolled over on his side facing away from him. kourai, not familiar with sharing a bed with someone, stayed on his side, staring at his best friend's back. 

he wasn't tired at all. 

\--

sachirou hadn't been lying at all when he said he was tired, especially since he hadn't slept well last night. he much preferred sleeping in his bed, but it wasn't too bad here. kourai was a warm presence, just barely pressed against his back that he soon forgot he was there, starting to drift off. 

he rolled over on his other side to get more comfortable, sighing through his nose. he almost drifted off completely until he cracked an eye open and found himself face to face with kourai, who was staring at him like he was trying to count the pores in his face. 

suddenly he wasn't very tired anymore, his face growing hot in tandem with kourai's. 

they both froze for a few moments, sachirou's recently woken up brain trying to string together a sentence. his mouth open and closed a few times before he spoke. 

“hi.” wow. real smooth, hirugami. “can't sleep?”

he watched as kourai faltered, very obviously flustered. “not really, no. i thought you were gonna sleep?”

“i was, but. uh. i'm okay now.” it wasn't a complete lie. he felt wide awake now, trying to figure out what had just happened. he knew kourai had a penchant for staring and did it often, but there was something different about his eyes now. they looked.. softer, almost. more vulnerable than they did when he was staring down an opponent or watching a game. 

more silence. it wasn't entirely comfortable this time, both boys fumbling for words, flustered over every interaction. 

had he done something weird? sachirou couldn't understand what kourai was so nervous about, not meeting his eyes and fidgeting with the hem of his (sachirou's!!) shirt. “uh.. sorry.” 

confusion overtook kourai's face. “what are you sorry for?” the words came out impossibly soft for someone as loud and rambunctious as kourai.

sachirou fumbled for words once again. there was something about this moment that felt different than all of the other times they talked in whispers, sharing a park bench or a snack or a secret. “i dunno. i made you uncomfortable?”

kourai furrowed his brow, and sachirou wanted desperately to reach up and smooth it out with his thumb. “don't worry about it, sachi,” he mumbled, smiling at him gently. he felt a hand cover his own under the blanket. “i'm not uncomfortable.”

his heart was beating so loud he was afraid kourai would hear it. 

he turned his hand over to hold kourai's hand properly, almost on autopilot. he immediately wanted to take it back. there was no way he felt the same way, right? that's probably why he was so nervous. he wished kourai wasn't too nice to let him down. “but you're acting so nervous.. i—” 

sachirou cut himself off before he could spiral like he used to. he breathed in through his nose, and out through his mouth. he remembered what kourai had told him in middle school. this wasn't life or death. kourai would never leave him just because of a crush. 

he also remembered that kourai was the most straightforward person he'd ever met, and he'd rather roll over and die than go along with something he didn't like. 

he took another deep breath. kourai still looked nervous. 

“kourai, i need to tell you something.”

a beat. 

his best friend's voice, cracking with nerves. “what's up?”

“i really like you,” sachirou blurted, feeling more relieved as soon as the words left his lips. he paused for a moment before continuing because kourai was staring again and he kind of looked like he was about to pass out. “it feels like we've been friends for forever, even though i know it's only been a few years, but..” he refused to meet his best friend's eyes. “i've liked you for a while. things don't.. y'know.. have to change or anything. i just thought you deserved to know. that's it.”

he had the blanket in a vice grip in his free hand, chewing on the inside of his cheek nervously. it felt good to finally say it, but the seconds spent waiting for kourai to answer were agonizing. 

“sachirou..” 

suddenly their fingers were intertwined. sachirou looked back up to meet kourai's eyes, keeping still as he reached his free hand up to brush his bangs away from his eyes. suddenly kourai's hand was cupping his cheek, and they were so close. so, so close. 

he could feel kourai's breath shudder against his lips. 

“can i kiss you?”

sachirou didn't even bother to answer, leaning in and kissing him like he'd wanted to for ages. 

it was warm, and they were both smiling so much after a while that it barely counted as a kiss. he felt warm in his chest and in his cheeks and where his knees knocked against kourai's. 

after they pulled back for air, sachirou just stared for a moment, making kourai laugh. “what?”

“you like me?” his cheeks hurt from smiling.

“sachirou, you idiot, i just kissed you! what do you think?”

“i think i was the one to kiss you, actually—”

“shut up, stupid sachirou.”

“you're just as stupid!”

they dissolved into laughter over what was probably the most them way to confess, sachirou putting his hand over the hand on his cheek and scooting closer to kourai. 

after they had calmed down a bit, sachirou squeezed kourai's hand, rubbing his thumb over the hand on his cheek gently. “you didn't say anything either.”

“that's cuz it's embarrassing!” 

“aww, i embarrass THE hoshiumi kourai?”

“shut up, idiot.”

sachirou rolled his eyes as he was shoved away. 

“i do like you, though. a whole lot!” kourai declared, making sachirou laugh. he was glad he was back to his overconfident self. he pressed a kiss to his nose, reveling in the way it made his friend's ears turn bright red. 

oh, wait. 

“hey, kourai, where do you wanna go with this? like.. i've known you for a while, so i'm fine with just being boyfriends, but we can go on a date if you want?” he paused to yawn during his proposition. now that he wasn't so nervous anymore, he was getting tired again. 

kourai smiled and squished his cheek gently. god, sachirou wasn't sure how he was gonna handle kourai if he was gonna be affectionate now. 

“a date sounds fun, but nap first?" kourai replied after a moment of thought. "we're totally boyfriends now, though," he added with a grin. 

sachirou was starting to feel heavy with sleep. “sweet. can we cuddle?” he didn't wait for an answer, untangling their hands and reaching out to properly hold his boyfriend(!!!!). kourai let himself be pulled in, tucking his head under his boyfriend's chin and draping an arm over his torso. 

sachirou drifted off easily with kourai in his arms, and when sachirou got sleepy, it was infectious. kourai had no trouble drifting off this time around, closing his eyes as his breath steadied. 

they slept for a long while, peaceful and unbothered as the rain began to pick up again outside.


End file.
